【Dream Updates】Until I Become Someone’s Example Ⅰ

I’m Mapaseka Maphama. I’m originally from Lesotho, a small landlocked country in Southern Africa, surrounded entirely by South Africa. Right now, I’ve been based in India since last year, where I’m pursuing my Master’s degree.

Yeah, I remember that time clearly. I was actually unemployed. I had worked from 2016 to 2017 on a project-based contract, but once that ended, I didn’t have a long-term job lined up.

Yeah, it was. But I’ve always believed that even if you’re not working, you shouldn’t stop growing. So during that gap, I tried to stay active and look for spaces where I could be productive and learn new things—workshops, soft skills training, and other programs that would help me grow.

Exactly. I didn’t want to just sit around waiting for a job, and then finally get one without having gained anything in the meantime. I really believe that any gap in your life isn’t just for lying around—it’s a chance to improve yourself in other ways.

I also started networking, and through that, I discovered international platforms and opportunities. Sometimes I’d meet someone who’d say, “Hey, have you heard of this program?” or I’d just stumble upon things on social media. Eventually, that’s how I found out about this opportunity and applied.

Emotionally, I won’t lie—I wasn’t in a great place. Unemployment is tough. But I had a lot of support from home and because of that, I was able to move around freely, attend programs, and participate fully. It helped me stay focused and hopeful.

Actually, around that same time, I got involved in community service, and that’s when I came across some of the homes for young mothers in my country. Seeing how those spaces empower young women really stayed with me.

But honestly, my passion for this started even earlier—when I became a single mother myself at 21. I was still in university then, in my second or third year. It was such a hard time. Becoming a young mother is incredibly complicated. Emotionally, psychologically, physically, financially—you need support in every direction. And I realized just how much help young mothers actually need.

Exactly. And it goes even deeper. I think I mentioned this in my dream story, but my parents were married for about 20 years—and it was never good. Eventually, they separated, and I watched my mother raise me and my brother alone, she did everything for us. Even though she came from a generation that didn’t really express emotions openly, I could see how it affected her. I could feel it.

Yes, definitely. The passion kept growing stronger. The more I reflected on it, the more I realized how deeply rooted the issue is. It’s what they call “generational trauma” in psychology. These patterns just keep repeating if nothing changes. That’s what really sparked the passion in me—to support young mothers.

One of the biggest turning points for me was starting a Master’s program in psychology. Through my own experiences, I came to realize that if you truly want to help someone, you first need to understand how to help them. Becoming a mother at a young age, there were so many moments when I thought, “If only I had this kind of support back then.” Those reflections became the driving force behind my decision to pursue a deeper understanding of psychology.

Of course, practical skills like how to earn a living are important, especially for young mothers who didn’t finish school. But what stood out to me the most was mental health. The trauma they’ve and even experienced affects their parenting, and without healing that, the cycle continues. I felt strongly that the real work begins there—helping them emotionally and psychologically so they can truly focus on their lives.

Exactly. I’ve always believed that everything begins in the mind. Your thoughts shape your behavior, and that plays a huge role in where you end up in life. So it’s really important to understand what’s happening inside yourself.

Leaving my home country to pursue a master degree in India wasn’t an easy decision, since it meant being away from my daughter. But through studying psychology, I’ve started to gain concrete tools to truly support others—like understanding personality traits, identifying signs of psychological distress, and learning effective counseling techniques.

Obviously, the biggest challenge is poverty. Poverty brings so many other issues into the picture such as education and teenage pregnancy. In my case, I came to pursue my Master’s on a scholarship, but I still have to cover a large portion of the fees myself. It’s a lot, and not many young people can afford that. So poverty ends up being the biggest barrier.

Mental health is another major challenge that often gets overlooked. There aren’t many professionals young mothers can turn to. And even when there are, the question becomes—how do I pay for counseling sessions? Mental health support often exists only in urban areas, so for those in rural communities, access is nearly impossible. The reality is that support isn’t reaching the people who need it the most.